Kirsten Cohen

Kirsten Cohen
The O.C. character
Kelly Rowan as Kirsten Cohen
First appearance	"Premiere" (episode 1.01)
Last appearance	"The End's Not Near, It's Here" (episode 4.16)
Created by	Josh Schwartz
Portrayed by	Kelly Rowan Ellen Hollman (flashbacks)
Information
Nickname(s)	Kiki (by father and Julie) Kiks (by Taylor)
Aliases	Kirsten Nichol (maiden name)
Gender	Female
Occupation	Architect Businesswoman
Title	Partner, NewMatch Former: CFO of the Newport Group CEO of the Newport Group
Family	Caleb Nichol (father; deceased) Rose Nichol (mother; deceased) Julie Cooper (stepmother) Hailey Nichol (younger sister) Lindsay Gardner (paternal half-sister) Marissa Cooper (stepsister, via Caleb; deceased) Kaitlin Cooper (stepsister, via Caleb)
Spouse(s)	Sanford "Sandy" Cohen (husband; 3 children [1 adopted])
Significant other(s)	James "Jimmy" Cooper (ex-boyfriend [before pilot]) Carter Buckley (crush)
Children	Unborn child (child, with Jimmy; aborted) Seth Cohen (son, with Sandy) Ryan Atwood (adoptive son, with Sandy) Sophie Rose Cohen (daughter, with Sandy)
Relatives	Sophie Cohen (mother-in-law) Summer Roberts (daughter-in-law, via Seth)
Religion	Christianity (Presbyterianism)
Residence	Berkeley, California Formerly: Newport Beach, California

Kirsten Cohen (maiden name Nichol) is a fictional character on the FOX television series The O.C., portrayed by Kelly Rowan. Kirsten is the wife of Sandy Cohen, mother to Seth Cohen, and the adoptive mother of Ryan Atwood. Originally portrayed as being unwelcoming towards Ryan in the Cohen household, she began to develop feelings for the brooding teenager, going on to accept him as a central member of her family.

Kirsten Nichol was born in Newport Beach in Orange County, California. She is the eldest daughter of Caleb and Rose Nichol, elder sister of Hailey Nichol, and elder half-sister to Lindsay Gardner. She comes from a very wealthy background: her father is a real estate developer who founded The Newport Group, one of the most powerful companies in California. Kirsten was raised Presbyterian. She is presumably Scottish American. In "The Best Chrismukkah Ever", Seth described her background as "Waspy McWasp". Although the Nichols appear to be the envy of Newport, Kirsten has stated multiple times that she was unhappy with her family life due to her distant and domineering father, alcoholic mother and rebellious sister.

She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in art history. During her college years, she met her future husband, Sanford "Sandy" Cohen, on a campaign for the 1984 presidential elections. Kirsten states that when they fell in love, she "lived in a mail truck and stank of patchouli". They married, and Kirsten gave birth to a son, Seth. In the season 2 episode "The O.Sea", they celebrated their twentieth anniversary and Sandy serenades her with the song "Don't Give Up on Me".